Thoroughbred Bloodlines - Davill's Old Woodcock Mare

Family 19

The pedigree of this line is probably correct, but some of the identifications and produce records of individual mares may be erroneous, owing to the absence of original stud records of Edward Rookes Leedes of North Milford. Mr Leedes advertised in the annual racing calendars for 1771, 1773, 1775-1780. There were also advertisements in newspapers, and the 1781 advertisement for the dispersal of his stud may also have been available. Two earlier newspaper advertisements, in 1759 and 1762, were clearly not known to the editor of the General Stud Book. Mr Leedes also owned the Bolton Starling, advertising him to the public 1749-1757, and at various times used as many as 13 of Starling’s daughters as broodmares. This total includes two pairs of full sisters, in addition to other closely related mares.

Tuberose
By pedigree, the most recent common ancestor of this family is Tuberose, a grey mare by King Herod, foaled in 1772. Her first broodmare entry appeared in An Introduction to a General Stud-book (1791). Her pedigree has been revised several times

     1791: got by King Herod, her dam by the Bolton Starling
     1793, 1803: got by King Herod, her dam by Starling, out of Coughing Polly
     1808, 1820, 1827, 1858: got by King Herod - Grey Starling
     1891: got by King Herod, out of Grey Starling (sister to Pegasus)

Tuberose was later described as “the best mare in England of her time, and a very valuable brood mare” (all but one of her 10 foals were starters, eight for Henry Peirse, of Bedale). Tuberose raced 1775-1778 for the “known confederates” Sir Thomas Gascoigne, 8th bt, and Thomas Stapleton, of Carlton. During those years her pedigree was given in the annual calendars only as “got by Herod.” However, Weatherby’s newspaper Racing Calendar for 13 Jul 1775 lists a match race one of which entries was Mr Stapleton’s gr f by Herod, out of Snorum’s dam. The un-named filly won this race and reappeared the next year called Tuberose.

In April 1810, the Sporting Magazine (Vol XXXVI. p 157) printed an article about Mr Stapleton’s Stud.

THE following is a list of the stud of Thomas Stapleton, Esq of Carlton, near Snaith, Yorkshire, who was for several years joint-confederate with the late Sir Thomas Gascoigne, Bart. whose stud was given in our Magazine for April last, page 17.--Mr Stapleton, who is now living at his seat at Carlton, first appeared upon the turf in 1760, and had during his continuance thereon, 1788, a well-chosen, though not a numerous stud of horses, &c of several of which he had portraits taken by the celebrated Stubbs, and whose performances still afford some gratification to their worthy and much-respected owner.

The horses of interest from this list are

Horses &c Names	Got by
Miss Carlton was bred by Mr Peirse, of Bedale, Yorkshire, and sold when young to Mr Stapleton. --At Hambleton in 1764, she won the King's plate for mares; she also won several £50 plates and matches. --She died of her first foal, by Lot, and the foal died also	Regulus
Snorum	Snap
Tuberose was the best mare in England of her time, and a very valuable brood mare. --(See our Magazine for April, p. 17).--A portrait with her rider, (George Herring) by Stubbs, was taken for Mr Stapleton.	King Herod

Starling Mare (sister to Perseus) out of Coughing Polly
Dam of Tuberose

This mare (GREY STARLING in GSB) had her first broodmare entry in GSB in the 1808 edition

GREY STARLING,
Bred by Mr SELBY, foaled in 1745, got by Starling, her dam Coughing Polly.
1759 b f Carlton, by Regulus … Mr Stapleton
1767 b c Snorum, by Snap … Mr Stapleton
1772 gr f Tuberose, by Herod … Mr Stapleton

In the 1891 edition a 1756 filly by Second (Mr Leedes) was added to her list of produce.

Another offspring of the dam of Tuberose and Snorum was mentioned in the Newcastle Chronicle of 3 May 1777, among the entries for a race for 4 years old at Beverley

Sir Tho. Gascoigne's grey Colt, by Match'em, out of Tuberose's Dam

On the other hand, evidence exists that (Miss) Carlton was out of a different Starling mare, not Tuberose’s dam. A series of advertisements in 1760, 1764 and 1766 for the sale of the stud of the late Henry Peirse of Bedale identifies the dam of Mr Stapleton's Carlton and Mr Hutton's Lofty, as

A BAY MARE, got by Old Starling; her Dam, by Young Belgrade; her Dam, by Johnson's Arabian; her Dam, by Tifter; her Dam, by Old Hautboy; her Dam, by Brimmer; and her Dam, by Diamond; and in Foal to Young Cade.... [York Courant. No 2024. 14 Aug 1764.]

Returning to the dam of Tuberose, since she produced at least two grey foals to non-grey sires (King Herod and Match’em, both bays) she was necessarily grey herself. Of the four full sisters to Perseus in GSB, two were grey. The (grey) sister foaled in 1755, had a full production record for the Duke of Northumberland, Mr Vernon, and Lord Ossory. And although the list does include a 1773 grey colt by Match’em (attributed to Mr Vernon), the foal of 1767 (the year Snorum was foaled) is listed as the Duke of Northumberland’s Voltaire, by Bell’s Arabian, and the foal of 1772 (the year Tuberose was foaled) is given as the Duke of Northumberland’s bay colt by Jew. This leaves the other, earlier, grey sister to Perseus as the dam of Tuberose.

She was probably one of the two full sisters to Perseus advertised for sale by Mr Leedes in 1759, and since she was not listed in the 1762 advertisement she had probably been sold by then;

To be SOLD,
ANY Ten of the following Mares, with their Foals.
For further Particulars enquire of Mr James Hodgson, at Milford, near Tadcaster, Yorkshire.
No. 13. A Grey Mare, got by Starling, her Dam by Bartlett's Childers, and called Coughing Polly; in Foal by Babram.
No. 14. A Bay Mare, full Sister to No. 13. a Colt Foal at her Foot, got by Chub, and in Foal by Babram.
Note, This Mare, and No. 13, are full Sisters to Lord Northumberland's Perseus, that won the Plate at Ascot Heath this Year, and the Hundred Guineas at Litchfield, and full Sisters in Blood to Lord Portmore's Skim. Heber. [London Evening Post, 13 Nov 1759; Issue 4997.]

One of these sisters was dam of Mr Leedes' chesnut (1756) Second Mare, which appeared in his sales lists 1762, 1771, 1773, 1775-1778 (“her dam by Starling, and is full Sister to Lord Northumberland’s Perseus”); these advertisements may have been the reason for adding a filly by Second to the list of GREY STARLING’s produce in 1891. By process of elimination, it appears that the earlier grey sister to Perseus also must have been dam of a chesnut Babram mare foaled in 1759, included in Mr Leedes’ sales lists 1771, 1773, 1775-1781 ("her dam, by Starling, her grandam, by Bartlet's Childers, and called Coughing Polly").

As noted above, GSB identifies Tuberose’s dam as GREY STARLING, bred by Mr SELBY. Although possible, contemporary records make this seem doubtful. Mr Ephraim Selby’s grey mare Grey Starling ran (8 8 dis) for £50 for 5 and 6 years old at Hexham in 1751. No pedigree was given. By name, she may well have been a daughter of the Bolton Starling, and, if so, must have been foaled in 1746 as a result of his stand at Bedale in 1745.* However, in 1746, Coughing Polly is credited with a filly by Merry Andrew, and is, therefore, unlikely to have been dam of Grey Starling that same year. Other arguments against Mr Selby’s Grey Starling as dam of Tuberose are that she did not race well, leading to the question as to why she would have been retained as a broodmare. And she would have been 26 years old when she produced Tuberose and 27 years old when she produced Sir Thos. Gascoigne’s grey Match’em colt in 1773.

* The Bolton Starling was advertised to cover in Ireland 1740-1744 and 1746-1749.

Perhaps the GSB editor was misled by the recurrence of the surname Selby. Coughing Polly was owned by Thomas Selby, who appears to have been one of the Selbys of Biddlestone in Northumberland. Ephraim Selby also lived in Northumberland, and while it is quite possible that the two men were related, it is unlikely that the relationship was a close one. No Ephraim is to be found in the right time frame within the usual pedigrees for Selby of Biddlestone, and Ephraim Selby was described as "of Stanton" in 1735 and again in 1747. Historically, Stanton was a property of the Fenwick family, and one source states that an Ephraim Selby was land agent for the Fenwicks of Bywell in the middle of the 18th century. (William Fenwick of Bywell stood the celebrated stallion Match’em.)

Based on the information noted above, a revised entry for the dam of Tuberose might read

(grey) STARLING MARE (perhaps called “Grey Starling”)
Her dam Coughing Polly, by Bartlet’s Childers.
*1756 ch f by Second … Mr Leedes
1759 ch f by Babraham … Mr Leedes
1760 ? by Babraham …
1767 b c Snorum, by Snap … Mr Stapleton
1772 gr f Tuberose, by Herod … Mr Stapleton
1773 gr c by Match’em … Sir Thos. Gascoigne
* Or out of her full sister, a bay mare advertised for sale by Mr Leedes in 1759 and 1762.

There may well have been additional offspring not recorded in the contemporary calendars or newspapers.

Coughing Polly
This mare had her first broodmare entry in GSB in the edition of 1793, the entry then reading

COUGHING POLLY,
Bred by Mr SELBY, foaled in 1736, got by Bartlet's Childers, out of the Counsellor Mare, which follows.
1745 gr f Grey Starling, by Starling … Mr Selby
1747 ch c Osteron, by Regulus … Sir C Sedley
c Trim, by Regulus … Mr Baker
f by Sloe … Ld Mazarene
1752 br c Phæton, by Starling … Ld Northumberland
1754 b c Perseus, by ditto … Ld Northumberland
1755 gr f by ditto … Ld Northumberland
1756 gr c Pegasus, by ditto … Ld Northumberland
1757 br f by ditto … Ld Northumberland
1759 br f by Regulus … Ld Northumberland

In the edition of 1803, COUGHING POLLY’s entry was the same, except that her 1757 br f by Starling is identified as dam of Tuberose.

Her list of produce was changed further in 1808, and has remained the same in all subsequent editions. The changes are underlined

1744 b f by Starling … Mr Leedes
1745 gr f Grey Starling, by Starling (dam of Tuberose) … Mr Selby
1746 f by Merry Andrew … Mr Leedes
1747 ch c Osteron, by Regulus … Sir C Sedley
1748 c Trim, by Regulus … Mr Baker
1749 bl c by Sloe … Ld Mazarene
1750 bl f by ditto … Mr Leedes
1752 br c Phæton, by Starling … Ld Northumberland
1754 b c Perseus, by ditto … Ld Northumberland
1755 gr f by ditto … Ld Northumberland
1756 gr c Pegasus, by ditto … Ld Northumberland
1757 br f by ditto … Ld Northumberland
1759 br f by Regulus (dam of Sultana) … Ld Northumberland

As mentioned above, however, the foaling dates of 1744 and 1745 cannot be correct for get of the Bolton Starling, unless their dam had been covered in Ireland. Examining contemporary records shows that there is historical evidence to support the existence of the foals whose records were changed, but nothing definitive regarding their years of foaling, other than for Trim.

Merry Andrew mare --
Both Coughing Polly and Merry Andrew raced for Lord Portmore, Coughing Polly in 1742, and Merry Andrew in 1741 and 1744. Although unlikely, perhaps Lord Portmore mated these two half siblings (their dam the COUNSELLOR MARE) while he owned them, or an accidental cover occurred sometime before 1745. From 1745-1747 Merry Andrew was advertised as a stallion by Mr Leedes, being replaced in 1748 with Second and Sloe. On the other hand, if, as stated by GSB, Mr Leedes was the breeder, the Merry Andrew mare was probably foaled 1746-1748.

(bay) Starling mare (sister to Perseus) --
Since Mr Leedes had several offspring of Coughing Polly, perhaps he also owned her at one time, and was responsible for the matings that produced his sisters to Perseus; they would have been foaled 1750 or later (Mr Leedes advertised the Bolton Starling 1750-1756; Starling is said to have died 24 Mar 1756). Unless the Merry Andrew mare was foaled while in Lord Portmore’s possession, the only open years for the earlier pair of sisters to Perseus are 1751 and 1753.

Grey Starling --
Ephraim Selby's grey mare Grey Starling ran (8 8 dis) for £50 for 5 and 6 years old at Hexham in 1751; her pedigree was not given. If she was indeed sired by the Bolton Starling, it must have been during his stand at Bedale in 1745, making her a foal of 1746. Whether this Grey Starling was the same as the grey sister to Perseus advertised for sale by Mr Leedes in 1759 is not known. Arguments tending against this identification are mentioned above.

Trim --
The age, color and breeder for Trim can be found in several contemporary sources; he was a chesnut, “coming five Years old” 27 Mar 1753 (York Courant. Numb. 1432, for example). Mr Routh’s records indicate that he was initially called “Milford” and an advertisement in the Newcastle Courant (14 Apr 1753) indicates that he had been “bred by Edward Leeds, Esq;”

Sloe colt and filly --
Lord Mazareene’s Sloe “got by Sloe, and out of Coughing Polly” raced in 1754 (no age given). He was advertised as a stallion in 1756, and the advertisement stated that he had been “bought from Mr Leeds, and for which he gave 150 Guineas, when rising two Years old,” but again no age was given.
The (chesnut) Sloe mare was included in Mr Leedes sales list of 1759, but not in 1762; her daughter by Babram was included in the lists for 1771, 1773, 1775-1781 (in the last described as rising 23 years old [in August]). Sloe was advertised to cover at North Milford 1748-1757.
Therefore 1749 and 1750 are probably correct as foaling years for these two offspring.

Counsellor Mare (sister to Thunderbolt)
This mare was first entered as a broodmare in An Introduction to a General Stud-book of 1791.

Her original entry was revised in the 1793 edition, making her dam by Snake (instead of Luggs) and adding an undated filly by Roundhead to her list of produce. In 1803 a filly by Cade, foaled 1749, was added, and in 1808 a filly by Regulus, foaled in 1748.

Her entry has remained the same since and now appears as

COUNSELLOR MARE (sister to Thunderbolt). Her dam by Snake - Luggs - Davill's Old Woodcock.
1733 b c Fig, by Bartlet's Childers ... Mr Routh
1735 b c Merry Andrew, by Partner ... Mr Mayes
1736 b f Coughing Polly, by Bartlet's Childers ... Mr Selby
1737 f Miss Mayes, by ditto (Skim's dam) ... Mr Selby
1738 b c Forfeit, by ditto ... Mr Routh
f by Roundhead (dam of Mr Swymmer's Hawk, 1753, by Starling, and of Mr Scrope's Jingle Jeff, by Wilson's Arabian) ...
1747 b f by Cade (dam, in 1755, of Lais, by Wilson's Ch. Arabian) ... Mr Atkinson
1748 f by Regulus ... Mr Atkinson
1749 b f by Cade ... Mr Routh

She had one more offspring, a brother to Merry Andrew, called Little Dann, who ran in the famous carriage match in 1750.

To LEAP this Season,
Now in the Hands of Mr Hugh Swinbank, of Warworth, at half a guinea a Mare, and Six-pence to the Keeper;
THE famous bay Horse, LITTLE DANN.
He was got by Mr Crofts’s Old Partner; his Dam by Conseller; his Grand-dam by Old Snake: He was bred by the late ‘Squire Mayse, of Yarm, out of a full Sister to Marrelous’s famous Thunderbolt, and dam to the noted running Horse, A Fig for it, the famous Coughing Polly, &c and Grand-dam to the famous Skim, late the Earl of Portmore’s. It’s allowed by the greatest Breaders [sic] of running Horses, that Little Dann is the best bred Son of Partner in being.
The Names of the Horses that run with Little Dann, the 29th of August, 1750, in a four-wheeled Carriage 19 Miles over New-market, were Tawney, the near Leader; Roderick Random, the off Leader; Chance, the near Wheel Horse; and Little Dann, the off Wheel Horse, which was performed in 53 Minutes and 27 Seconds. As witness, / Thomas Jackson. [Newcastle Courant. No. 4142. 31 Jan 1756.]

The breeder of Little Dann was John Mayes, usually referred to as "Counsellor" Mayes who had inherited the Friarage at Yarm. Perhaps he was the namesake of Counsellor, the sire of this mare and of her brother Thunderbolt. Counsellor Mayes married Mary, daughter of Roger Meynell of North Kilvington, and they had a daughter Cicely (or Cecily), who was a considerable heiress. She was usually known simply as “Miss Mayes”, and the COUNSELLOR MARE’s daughter is clearly named for her.

Miss Mayes married James Fermor, a surname often rendered as Farmer, and the produce of the mare called Miss Mayes reflects this relationship. The mare’s son Skim was also called “Farmer or Fermor”, and another son, Scipio, raced first as the property of Miss Mayes (Cheny 1747) and then as the property of Mr “Fermore” (Cheny 1748). In fact, these dates for Scipio’s change of ownership allow us to estimate the year in which this marriage (which produced no children) took place.

The Meynells were also closely related to the Selbys. In 1735 Roger Meynell married Barbara Anne Selby, and his sister Mary Meynell married Barbara Anne’s brother, Thomas Selby of Biddlestone.

According to contemporary records, the first five of the COUNSELLOR MARE's produce were bred, owned or raced by members of this extended family: Fig was bred by Mr Meynell; Merry Andrew, bred by Mr Meynell and owned by Mr Mayes; Coughing Polly raced by Thomas Selby, Miss Mayes, owned by Miss Mayes and Mr Fermor, and Forfeit, bred by Mr Meynell. The undated Little Dann was bred by Mr Mayes, so should probably be placed earlier rather than later in the COUNSELLOR MARE's list of produce.

Snake Mare
This mare does not have an entry in GSB. Since she was dam of Thunderbolt, a horse bred by Mr Meynell, as well as his sister (whose first produce were also for Mr Meynell) she probably belonged to him.

Luggs Mare
This mare does not have an entry in GSB. She is the only known offspring of her sire Luggs; he was said to have been bred by Lord Darcy and got by his (White) Turk "that got Hautboy," out of a Foreign or "Neapolitan-Mare."

Mare by Davill's Old Woodcock
This mare does not have an entry in GSB. It is not known whether her sire, Davill's Old Woodcock, is the same as one of the other Woodcocks appearing in early records. See Family 18.


Golden Boss (IRE) 1923 Nunthorpe Stakes	Justina (GB) 1978 Jugoslovenski Trial Stakes	Perigord (PER) 1957 Clasico Derby Nacional